Corrugated disk filter



sept, 21., 194s.

CORRUGATED DISK FILTER Original Filed Jan. l2, 1939 ai? n if.

6. 24 33 .fz Z5 INVE/vro f5 y MAUR/cf f1.6aL0MA/v ffaff M. A. GoLDMAN2,449,809

2 Sheets-Sheet 2 OriginalV Filed Jan. l2. 1939 INVENTOR. UR/cfA Gam/m NPatented Sept. 21, 1948 CORRUGATED DISK FILTER Maurice A. Goldman, NewBrunswick, N. J., aa-

signor to Johnson & Johnson, New Brunswick, N. J., a corporation of NewJersey Original application January 12, 1939, Serial No.

250,666. Divided and this 24, 1942, Serial No. 463459 applicationOctober 3 claim (ci. 21e- 169) This invention relates to filtrationsystems and has marked utility when reduced to practice in the coldfiltration of milk. Generally stated it is a division of the inventiondisclosed in my copending application Serial No. 250,666, iiled Januaryl2, 1939 (now abandoned)and comprehends the apparatus and the trappingmechanism used in the method disclosed and claimed in my priorapplication. By means of this method and apparatus it is possible to:filter milk at a temperature of about 40 F. at'standard plant operatingcapacities and in such a way as to obtain milk of excellent quality andavor and free from included dirt and other sources of contamination. Onesuch contamination is a bacterial growth which when present forms aslimy de-l .posit on the filter septa and is generally and looselytermed garget by the farmer. Such deposits contribute greatly to themechanical breakdown of filtering systems. It is a fact cognizable toexperts that pasteurization does not kill all bacteria and that presenceof the slimy deposit or the phlegm-like secretion or dischargeassociated with garget or mastitis generally results in stringy or ropymilk. The present invention is meritorious in that it provides also forthe removal of the slimy deposit and, hence, obviates the stringy orropy condition alluded to; and it does this very probably due to thefact that such inclusions are sticky when cold and may then be readilyremoved as distinguished from its fluid characteristic when hot in whichstate it readily slips through the filter media and causes stringy orropy milk. Aside -from this pre-heating is objectionable because itseffeet is to dissolve and disseminate the contained dirt and otherdeleterious matter and to impart to the milk a very deiinite high odorand olf flavor. By cold trapping and filtration, say at about 40 F., itis possible readily to remove dirt and other objectionable matter,including those slimy deposits resulting from mastitis or garget whichdeposits themselves are loosely termed garget by farmers and others onthe farms and other bacterial cultures, before the milk enters theprocessing lines because dirt, in cold milk, is substantially dormantand if removed in the cold state will leave the milk pure and wholesome.

The elimination of .dirt and bacteria cultures at the dump tanks by coldfiltration and before processing long has been recognized as a desirableachievement and yet, notwithstanding that the industry has given thesubject considerable attention, it has not been possible heretofore andtlsy 2 before my invention to eiect the cold ltration of milk in acommercial way.

I have determined after extended experimen V tationthat the maincontributing cause of such failure is the breakdown of the filter septaresulting from clogging of the filter surfaces sometimes with the slimydischarge from cows Sudering from garget and the like and morefrequently with unstabilized butter fat in the form of thin iiat flakes.The flakes of unstabilized butter and clumps o f stabilizedbutter fatglobules, as well as butter fat aggregates not reduced to the form offlakes or shavings, thoroughly obstruct or seal the filter and theconsequence is that there is a building up of pressure suiilclent tocause rupture of the cotton or equivalent filter septa. In short, I havedetermined that the breakdown of the filter septa may be attributed inpart to the presence, in whole milk held at low temperatures, of largeclumps of stabilized butter fat globules and butter fat aggregates.Generally speaking, the aggregate or agglomerated phase is due toseveral factors-agitation of the milk during transportation, thetemperature at which it is held, and the period of its storage. Thebutter fat problem is also aggravated by the action of the pump whichusually is ofthe rotary positive displacement type operating at constantSpeed without pulsation or irregular action. The pump has 4a decidedshearing and crushing action upon the stabilized butter fat, the effectof which is to disperse the aggregates in the form of thin flat, flakeshaving unstable fatty surfaces which exert an immediate and completedetrimental film sealing of the filter media. The filter is obstructedstill more 'by the clumps of stabilized butter fat globules and by thebutter fat aggregates that happen to escape the fiaking action of thepump and yet are still of the order of magnitude not to be passed by theiilter.

Exhaustlve tests were conducted with other types of standard pumps butthe ultimate result was the same, viz., the objectionable iiaking beforealluded to. Nor did the use of standard strainers on the input or outputside of the pump operate to lessen the problem to any appreciabledegree. Standard woven wire strainers failed of their purpose becausethey rapidly succumbed to deformation, were difficult to clean andPermitted too much viscosity of flow so that the bodies in suspensioninstead of being trapped by the strainers Were forced through theopenings thereof along with the milk.

I then centered my efforts on a method and means for trapping the filmforming matter, including flakes and other forms of butter fatobstructing media, and evolved a trap that completely solved the problemand met with instant acclaim by the dairy industry. In'the preferredpractice of the invention it is interposed in the line between theoutput side of the pump and the lter septa. Briefly stated, the trappingdevice comprises a plurality of screens in the form of perforated metalsheets or'disks so ordered and arranged that the milk traverses themwithout bypassing. The screens are uniformly punched with -amultiplicity ofrelatively minute openings somewhat of the nature ofpinholes.-y In addition to such basic openings, successive screens withthe exceptionof the final one in ascending order, that is to say, asthey occur in gages, etc., and a drive for a pump, the latter thedirection of fluid flow towards the filter, are

provided with relatively large ports or openings to insure uninterruptedflow should a particular screening area become clogged. The forarninousscreens are concentrically crimped or corrugated which gives `them abilge effect and a co-mated arrangement that greatly augments theeffective trapping area, 4and stiffens or imparts a certain degree ofrigidity to the light gage metal whereof the plates are constructedwhile yet conferring or retaining enough resiliency to the end that thescreens while under stress of 'fluid flow will be expanded in a radialdirection and thereby assume a snug sliding fit on the inner wall of thecasing for the purpose and with the result of preventing edgewise orcircumferential bypassing of the milk. The k describedv construction andarrangement of the screenshas the further merit that it provides forself-spacing in the sense that they mutually serve to space themselvesand thus obviate the use` of independent separators which areobjectionable because they are not sanitary and because they obstructfluid iiow. The described construction and arrangement is furthermeritorious because it develops a. swirling action of the milk whichkeeps the vparticles in a state being generally indicated at 8. Thecabinet supports a filter head 1 and it-s complemental filter elementsgenerally indicated at 8 and releasably locked within the head. A lineconnection 9 between the filter and the output I'U of the pump includesa readily separable casing Il which contains the screening elements.

Casing I'I is ia generally cylindrical shell Whose axial inlet I2` has areduced portion or neck I3 to telescope the output I of the pump. Theshell or casing has an enlarged or offset nim. Il servllngas an abutmentfor the clamping laws I5 of a. yoke Itwhich cooperates with a screw I1to secure la removable head I8 in sealing rela'-Y tion with the casing,it being noted, in Fig. 2,v that the rim of the casing has its inneredgeforrmed wiith an angularly disposedrecession I 9 tov ac= commodate asealinggasket 20. Casing head-I8 .Y

has a fluidway or outlet 2| formed with a shouldered seat 22fortelescopic engagement with the j line connection offthe filter.. Thissimple'con V struction and Yarrangement is meritorious' belcause itadmits of ready accessibility to thev conof substantially constantmotion thereby tending to prevent them from adhering to the screeningsurfaces with the'result of greatly prolonging the useful life ofthescreen. 'I'he swirling action also operates to gather the flakes intopellet form which facilitates the cleaning of the screening surfaces.

Generally stated 'the invention vcornprehends the obviating ofconditions tending to mechanical breakdown of filter septa in .thecommercial or power filtration of milk, that is to say, where the rawmilk is delivered under-*constant flow and pressure from a pump to aiilterhead, whichv improvementA consists in separating out from themilk, at a point in the feed line between the pum-p and the filter head,slimy bacterial matters, un-

stabilized butter fat, and othery inclusions of suchv nature as surelyto clog and break down the filter septa, and effecting such separatingout or removal of the clogging matters willie theyV are still inv adormant state and in suspension, that is to say, while the milk is coldand preferably yat a temperature of about 40 F. and in such Away as notappreciably to interrupt the flow from the pump to the filter head. I

One embodiment of the invention is illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings, wherein Figure 1 is an elevational view of a layout comprisinga lter, a pump for supplying milk under pressure, and a line connectionincluding mean-s for removing filter obstructing and other objectionableor deleterious substances from the milk.

Referring frurther to Fig. 2, which shows the complete assembly of thetrap, it may be' re. marked that,` in the absence of the casing head,

and by :means of a. centering rod or spindle 23.l the screening elementsmay be handled, that is to say, applied' and removed as a unit. 'I'heplate 24 freely exposed to milk entering the cas- Aing and having largeports 25 (Fig. 7). In orderv head is applied, its sloirt 21 and webextensions 22 r to eliminate by-passing ofthe milk the periphery `ofthe'plate 24 snugly fits'the inner wall-of the casing and is thickenedby downwardly directed continuous-flange or ledge 26 whereby theplatements 29 'are centered by thesplndle and they,

likewise, snugly fit the inner wall o f the casing and the'spindle so asto eliminate the hazard .of

bypassing of the milk. When the parts are a'ssembled `.in the mannerstated and the casing will-bear upon appropriate 'partsof thetopmosttrapping element and' thereby counteract any thrust that may be imposedupon the assemblydisks may be varied. The disks whileA still in the flatstate are uniformly punched, as at 30,

to provide,l for example, nine hundred fty-two.-

holes to the square inch; They are then punched .to' provide two sets ofports or openings, 3l and 32, spaced on radiallines and of the order,re-l spectively, of 17/64 and 9/64 of an inch, the larger aperturesbeingoutermost.

accesos As already has been stated the screening el`e mentsare formed ofrelatively thin sheet metal and it-is desinable to mechanically stinenthem without thickening the sheet and. hence, without area and is alsoimportant because it obvlates the use oi separate or independent meansdor maintaining the requisite spacing between adjacent disks, theconvened portions mutually serving as separators. The reverselycurvedlips or edges i6 also insure self-sealing of the coxnated baiiies'and this in conjunction with .the precision of their nt on the innerwall of the casing prevents bypassing of the milk.

. The disks have a certain amount of inherent resiliency which isincreased rather than decreased by the crimping. Hence, the crimpeddisks. 'when under pressure of the milk, have a tendency to moveradially under attening action towards the casing wall as well as thecentering device and thus prevent ieakage or bypassing circumferentiallyand axially, either or both.

Asalready stated, the screening elements are formed or provided withradially spaced diderential ports or apertures.- Their purpose is toinsure uninterrupted fluid flow in the event of clogging of any oneV ormore of the screening elements, and to that end they are definitelyordered. For example, the first screen (Fig. 6), meaning by that the onenearest the casing inlet, is provided with eleven ports il and elevenports :32, the numbers of each of the respective ports diminishing byone in the ascending order of the screens so that the eleventh screen(Fig. has but one o1' each of said ports 3i and :52, and the topmostscreen has no openings other than the basic minute perforations. Thisconstruction and arrangement enables take care of c. proportion of theload of un stabilized or ake butter fat; and the trapping and bailing ofthe butter fat throughout the bilged areas is accelerated by theswirling action of the milk induced by the crimped construction of thescreens and to some extent by the orderly arrangement of thedifferential iiuid ports or escape apertures. Otherwise stated, thetotal area of the ports in the rst screen unit is equivaient to almostflve per cent of the total area of the basic or minute openings andaccordingly passes about tive per cent of the flow beforevthe basic,openings become clogged; Nevertheless,V

the escape openings are adequate to handle the 4 entire ilow in theevent the screening surface becomes clogged. The total area of theescape openings in each successive stage diminishesby about one-half ofone per cent because each successive 4trapping unit works on relativelycleaner -milk and consequently the relative proportion of the total areaof ne periorations to the total area of escape openings can be higher.

The arrangement of progressively diminishing port areas provides a,unique arrangement of screening layers both in series and lin parallelwhich materially increases the capacity of the trapping device. It will.be noted that while the liquid `is being screened through the layerwhich is rst in the direction or flow. some of the liqud carryingentrained solids passes through the ports rto be screened through thesecond layer simultaneously. In turn while liquid is being screened bythe second layer a portion passes through the ports to be screened by.the third layer and so on to theend ot .the series. This arrangement ofthe layersin parallel allows al1 layers (except the nal one) to screenliquids simultaneously materially increasing the rate `of ow ofthecapacity of the trapping device. However some of the liquid which passes.through the perforate portion of the ilrst screen and .thereby hassolids removed from it may pass successively .through the pertora'teportions of the second and third screens and so on,

` and in any event the liquid is screened by the last screen of theseries which has no ports. Thus liquid is screened through aplurality oflayers successively or in series.

'Para-doxically the swirling action of the milk defers clogging of .theminute openings because it operates to keep the particles to be :trappedin substantially a constant state of motion and this materially aids inwashing or cleaning the screening surfaces.

It may be remarked conditions and after the lapse ofthe usual time for.the calibrated capacity each screen to of the lter, the filter septaand trap were re unbroken, showed no evifree from deposit .of stances.l'n short, its ly unirnpaired. The distribution -of aky stances.

l. Apparatus for trapping foreign matter from fluids, said apparatuscomprising a. casing having an inlet and an outlet, a plurality ofsuperimposed perforated corrugated disks positioned in said casingbetween said inlet and said outlet, 'said disks being arranged incontact with eachother and in pairs with .the corrugations of eachpairbeing butter fat and other subusefulness was substantialtrap screensshowed an even iat and other trapd subreversed in direction whereby thedisks will be,

spaced in accordance with the depth of the corrugations and may expandradially upon the application of pressure and when so xpanded willengage the sides of said casing.

2. Apparatus for removing solids from liquids comprising in combinationa chamber having an inlet, an outlet, and a pluralityofcircumferentially corrugated disks arranged in series between saidinlet and outlet. each of said disks being to prevent the passage ofsolids through it, but mitting the ow of liquids through it. thecorrugations of adjacent disks being reversed to space the major portiono! each disk from the adjacent disks when the disks are in contact, eachof the disks except the last of the series in the direction of ow ofliquid being provided with one or more openings in addition to saidpassages permitting the passage of liquids and solids, whereby 'theliquid passes through a plurality of disks successively, and in so doingpasses through a plurality of the passages and openings in said disks inparallel simultaneously.

3. Apparatus for removing solids from liquids comprising-in combinationa chamber having an inlet, an outlet, and e.- plurality of spacedpervious screens arranged in series within said chamber and each fittedto the wall of the container and obstructing passage between the inletand outlet. each of said screens being formed of material adapted toprevent the passage of solids through it and having passages permittingthe dow of liquids only through it and each of the screens. except thelast in .the direction of flow of lliquid being provided with one ormore additional openings `larger than having passages per'-` said liquidpassages permitting v #new i in passing through soldichamber'passesthroush quidsf'aid solids whereby liquid A a plurality{of-said screens. and'in so doing. passes throgh'a. pluralityof saidpassages and a plurality or said openings simultaneously, the totalarea. of said openings, in'each screen having such openings, vdecreasing progressively from screen to screenin the direction offiowthrough said cham:

ber.

= y l v MAURICE A. GOLDMAN.

.EEFEEEN'ES CITED The followingreferences ax'eof record in the le ofthis patent: l

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name' l Date 405,406v (Fre ,sqnet-- June18, 1889 758,150 Schilling Apr. 26, 1904 794,271 Anson July 11, 1905969,357 Fredrum Sept. 6, 1910 1,005,366 Tousley- -1---- Oct. 10, 19111,061,928 Seavey May 13, 1913 Number y Name, Date' 1,172,728 Perkinslieb., 22, 1916 1,202,723 Jackson 1 Oct. 24,1916

1,335,087 Bell Mor, 30, 1920 1,737,313 Kamrath Nov. 26, 1929 1,790,470Hansen v Jan. 27, 1931 1,794,766 Hatch Mar. 3, 1931 1,966,274 Wells July10, 1934 2,026,061 Goldman Jan. 14, 1936 2,044,0 96 Moran June 16, 19362,066,793 l Mesurac Jan. 5, 1937 `2,075,175 Byrd Mar. 30, 1937 2,115,577Goldman Apr. 26,1938 2,132,099 Doering et al Oct. 4,1938 2,148,100Browne Feb. 21,1939 2,151,760 Harris Mar. 28, 1939 2,157,668 Kidd May 9,1939 2,184,243 Belyavin Dec. 19, 1939 2,216,646 Mautz Oct. 1,1940

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